


Fear

by jupitcrs



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Slight Hurt, idk wtf other tags to add, jj sad boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:48:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24751903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jupitcrs/pseuds/jupitcrs
Summary: JJ is scared.
Relationships: JJ & Pope (Outer Banks), JJ/Pope (Outer Banks)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 98





	Fear

JJ was scared.

That wasn’t new to him, though.

The sun was setting, sending bright, burning beams of light onto the water. Half of it was already hidden, but the other part still visible was supported by an orange sky, with dark clouds spotting the distance.

There were bruises on his hands- knuckles tinted a dark red and clusters of purple and blue sneaking their way down to his wrist. He was so used to the pain that it didn’t faze him anymore.

At least, he liked to pretend it didn’t.

He shut his eyes and listened to the sound of the waves, and the voices of his friends talking behind him. Quiet chatter between Kie and Pope about where Sarah and John B might be, as the group of troubled teens tried to ignore the possibility that their friends might be dead.

He knew the chances of the situation that they had fallen into- the slim likeliness that everything would turn out alright. He’d gotten a taste of death several times, felt their cold touch sneaking _just_ past him- guns pointed to his head, shots fired at him, hands sending punch after punch against his body.

But when it started- that stupid fucking plan to find the Royal Merchmant, steal gold and go full Kook- he had figured there was nothing to lose. And he was right, for the most part. There wasn’t a future ahead of him. He was a juvenile delinquent- he knew where his life was headed.

But he hadn’t seriously considered how likely it was that his friends could die.

When he thought about himself, about death finally taking him in their arms, it wasn’t scary. If he was gonna die, he was gonna die. Maybe he’d prefer living- prefer seeing his friends happy, prefer getting high and surfing on a Saturday, prefer stirring up a little trouble here and there- but death wasn’t something he was afraid of.

Nothing scared him.

Until he realized that John B. and Sarah might be dead. That he might never see them again. That maybe, if he kept his mouth shut for fucking once, and he didn’t make the same, impulsive, rage-fueled decisions he always made, they would still be here and they’d be safe and they’d be happy.

That maybe the five of them would be okay. They’d be living with millions of dollars to their name- or maybe none at all. Maybe their plan would’ve failed anyways- so he just never should’ve encouraged going for the gold, never should have stolen Barry’s money, never should have done anything.

JJ Maybank was not scared of many things, but he was terrified of himself.

“Hey.”

He didn’t turn his head, already recognizing the voice from behind him. A soft hand on his shoulder, and a body moving down to sit beside him.

“Hey.”

“What are you thinking about, man?”

JJ looked at Pope, and his thoughts faltered. His best friend had a gentle look on his face, despite the dried blood and slowly-fading bruises residing on his skin. Pope. God, Pope.

JJ took the fall for him and he was okay with it. He was just sorry things didn’t work out in Pope’s favor.

The man beside him had a future- one that probably didn’t involve JJ. And though the thought of that always stung, he was never going to let himself keep Pope away from where he wanted. He’d much rather take the blame for something he didn’t do than let Pope get punished for it. That would have risked everything he worked for and he wasn’t gonna sit there and let it happen. Because he was Pope’s friend, and that’s what friends do.

That’s what he told himself, anyways.

He caught himself staring at Pope’s lips far too often- daydreaming like a loser about kissing them. There was no denying that the blond Pogue had feelings for his best friend, but JJ kept them to himself.

It was easier that way. No problems. No risk. Besides, they’d probably go away soon, right?

Maybe they would, if he wished for it hard enough.

But he never did, because part of him- a small part of him- hoped he could tell Pope how he felt. Hoped that Pope felt the same.

A bigger part of him knew that would be a stupid fucking idea, so he stayed quiet.

“Hey. Earth to JJ?”

JJ shook his head, looking back at the sunset. The sun was lower now, the sky steadily growing bluer and darker.

“Sorry. Just thinkin’ about all this shit.”

“All this shit being… John B and Sarah?”

JJ exhaled through his nose, bumping into Pope softly with his shoulder and nodding. “Yeah, man. What else?”

He could see Pope shake his head through the corner of his eye, so he looked at him. Their eyes met, and Pope raised an eyebrow, looking JJ up and down.

“Uh, I don’t know... maybe the gold? Or the multiple near death experiences we’ve faced recently. The bruises you have. Your infuriating insistence on not letting anyone treat your wounds.”

“That sounds more like what _you’ve_ been thinking about,” JJ smiled, ignoring the stupid little flutter in his chest. “You that worried about me? Thanks, baby, but I’m okay.”

Pope rolled his eyes, reaching out to grab JJ’s hand. “You’re not fine, asshole, you’re hurt like the rest of us. A little peroxide and a bandaid isn’t gonna strip you of your pride, JJ.”

His thumb brushed softly over JJ’s knuckles, eyes examining the bruises on the blond’s skin. “You should bandage these, like- wrap them in gauze at least. It’ll prevent any more damage, or you accidentally hurting them.” He spoke softly, not looking up at JJ while he moved his thumb.

JJ managed a small chuckle, looking closely at Pope. He was chewing softly on his bottom lip as he focused on JJ’s hands. “Hey, Pope- you don’t gotta worry about me.” The teen’s voice was quieter now, distracted with how close Pope was- and how gentle he was being.

“Bullshit.” Pope scoffed, though his voice wasn’t harsh. “You’re an idiot, JJ,” He smiled then and looked up at the blond, “so yeah, I gotta.”

JJ looked into his friend’s dark eyes, a soft smile of his own forming. His gaze shifted down to Pope’s lips, and he bit his lip. “You make a good point. Don’t know what I’d do without you, Pope.”

There was nothing spoken between them for a moment. The pacing of Kie behind them and the calls of seagulls filled the silence, along with the crashing of waves against the shore.

Pope was the first to speak again.

“Hey, JJ?”

“Hm. Yeah?”

Pope hesitated, then leaned up.

Their lips almost touched, and JJ’s fingers slipped between Pope’s. Nothing happened, though, and they stared into each other’s eyes as JJ’s heart thumped in his chest.

“Pope?”

“Yeah?”

“Are we- uh, what’s happening here?”

A cheeky smile lifted Pope’s lips, and he shrugged, “No Pogue on Pogue macking.”

JJ’s eyebrows furrowed, and he paused. At first he was confused, but then he was surprised, and finally he was annoyed.

“Fuck you, golden boy.”

Pope didn’t bother replying, leaning forward and kissing JJ softly. JJ leaned forward into the kiss, moving his free hand to rest on his friend’s cheek. There weren’t any fireworks, and JJ’s heart didn’t explode.

But he smiled softly against Pope’s lips, and his heart thumped a bit heavier, and his worries faded away for a moment.

Pope squeezed his hand gently, and after a few moments, they parted slowly.

The boys rested their foreheads together, breathing softly. Neither of them could seem to wipe the smile from their lips, and when Pope let out a small laugh, JJ started laughing too.

JJ leaned back in to kiss him one more time, pressing a soft peck against his lips.

“Will you let me take care of your hands now, Maybank?”

JJ smiled, shaking his head slowly. “Fine, you got five minutes.”

Pope grinned and scrambled to his feet, “Gotcha, just give me a minute to go get the stuff.” He winked- or tried to- and JJ laughed before he ran off. He watched him as he left, a smile never leaving the boy’s lips.

JJ was still scared. His bruises were still sore and fear still lingered in his chest. Memories were not going to go away anytime soon and he wouldn’t suddenly be fine. None of them would be.

He looked over at Kie, who smiled when she saw him looking. JJ smiled back, then looked over at Pope again, who was returning already.

They had each other.

Pope sat down across from JJ and grabbed his right hand, pulling out some supplies from his backpack.

Kie walked over and sat down too, beginning to talk to Pope about where the trio could go out to eat- because if they couldn’t figure anything else out, they could at least do that.

JJ listened to his friends talk, let Pope wrap his hand in bandages and stared out at the ocean. He took a breath and smiled.

They would be okay.

Or maybe not. Maybe everything would go south again, and they’d all die this time, doing another stupid thing.

But he had hope. Hope that all of them would be just fine.

And for now, that was all that JJ Maybank needed.


End file.
